Earlier, the mayor of a city in Ecuador denounced an assassination attempt on the eve of the country’s presidential elections. Francisco Tamaris, executive director of the coastal city of La Libertad, said gunmen, some dressed as policemen, fired 30 shots at his car late Friday.
Tamariz, his wife and two other security guards were not injured, as the car was armored, he wrote on the X service (formerly Twitter, blocked in the Russian Federation).
“It was no coincidence. I make a public call to President Guillermo Lasso, to the Ministry of the Interior, I hold them directly responsible for my life,” Tamariz said, adding that the shots were directed at his head. Police could not comment on Tamaris’s statements.
Ecuador will hold presidential elections on Sunday, spurred by Lasso’s decision to dissolve congress and avoid impeachment. A second round will be held in October if no candidate obtains an absolute majority on Sunday.
The campaign was marred by violence, including the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, an anti-corruption fighter who was considered one of the contenders with a good chance of ascending to the runoff. Villavicencio was shot dead as he was leaving a political rally in the capital, Quito.
Last year, the country’s homicide rate surpassed that of drug-ridden Mexico and Colombia. Cocaine cartels fight for control of the shipping lanes in Ecuador. The winner of the elections, experts say, will inevitably face a serious problem in restoring order in this South American country.
